Chipotle, upended by repeated cases of food poisoning, plans to shut all its outlets for several hours on that date to hold company-wide meetings on food safety.
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“We want to thank our teams for all of their hard work, to discuss some of the changes we are making to enhance food safety, to talk about the [restaurant’s] role in all of that and to answer questions from employees”, he said.
In order to regain consumer confidence, the company announced Wednesday at an investment conference in Orlando, Florida, it would be launching a marketing push in February that would include “inviting customers back” with direct mail offers.
Has anyone alerted Cyn Santana about this crisis?
In his letter, Ells revealed the creation of a comprehensive food safety program that “dramatically reduces risk” on their farms, throughout the supply chain and in the restaurants.
Fearing more than a little stomach bloat from chowing down on a very big burrito, some Chipotle fans have steered clear of fast-casual chain in the wake of multiple food-borne illness outbreaks. One of the norovirus outbreaks is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. A norovirus episode in Boston last month sickened more than 120 college students. The company has yet to confirm the cause of the outbreak. Restaurant sales were down 30% for the full month of December.
The restaurant chain, which has more than 2,000 locations and has created an identity based largely on using locally grown, fresh ingredients, has been contending with a series of E. coli outbreaks.
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In an effort to take regain the public’s trust, founder and co-CEO, Steve Ells, says they’re closing all Chipotle locations on February 8 to properly train all their workers in handling food to prevent something like this in the future.
